superficial, and at the close the building stood nearly as impregnable as before. In one place under the parapet, a mass of brickwork was detached, and in other parts some rather large holes had been made in the exterior wall, but nowhere was the interior pierced by either shot or shell. The most singular result of the day’s firing was that the shells penetrated farther than the round shot, marking a depth of about 24 inches, whilst the shot marked only 18 inches. The artillerists were much puzzled at this effect. When the order was given to cease firing, the Duke, with his staff and other officers, astonished the spectators by the agility with which he crossed ploughed fields, leaped the ditches and clambered over five-barred gates on his way to inspect the battered tower. The task of following his Royal Highness seemed to tell considerably on the lungs of some of those who followed him. He entered the tower and ascended to the top, and thoroughly examined the effects of the bombardment, after which he declared that the Smooth-bores were not at all equal to the Armstrongs. The same opinion was given by the Artillery officers, with the addition that the latter were also the easiest and safest to discharge. After lunch time the practice of single shots was discontinued and firing in salvos was adopted, yet no material additional damage could be perceived. The firing was resumed on Tuesday, and a few of the Hastings and St. Leonards Volunteer Artillerymen went over a second time. Again on Wednesday, the firing went on all day, leaving the tower very little breached, but very “shaky” from the vast number of concussions. After this the bombardment was not carried any farther, it being concluded that enough had been done to show, on the one hand that the Martello Towers are of great strength, and on the other hand that the old style of ordnance must give place to the new. It was considered, however, that where the former can be got sufficiently near to stone fortifications , it would do more conclusive mischief by its shaking effects than the conical projectile would by going right through. It was not deemed that the destruction of any more towers would be necessary, unless they were likely to be undermined by the inroads of the sea. These legacies of the years 1805 and ‘6 were judged by competent authorities to be still capable as a means of preventing a hostile landing if armed with an Armstrong gun on a traverse. Another plea for their preservation was that they formed habitations for many of the Coastguards, and that their original structure at a cost of £3,000 each should secure them from being pounded away in merely experimental firing.
“Gunpowder Plot”. As being appropriate to the foregoing accounts of a powder-mill explosion and the use of gunpowder in experimenting on a Martello tower, comes the notice of the -
